Monday, June 1, 2015

Moving to Youtube

Not much blogging going on around here lately.  It is not from lack of desire.  I can assure you there is no blogging burnout here.  I love to write, to discuss, to share ideas.

I just lack the time.

I have three major hobbies that take up the bulk of my free time.  Two of them involve spending long periods of time outdoors.  I am not even going to mention that time taken up from daily obligations of career, chores and family life.  All of this is just hobbies and pastimes:

Outdoors.  Hiking and camping up in the mountains with Rosemary is something I live for, but it will swallow up an entire weekend.  I have also pushed my trail running into another level.  I ran over 300 kilometers just in the month of May, mostly on the desert trails around Franklin Mountain State Park.  That kind of running is a real challenge that keeps me active and motivated, but averaging 10 kilometers a day pounding the trails eats up an enormous amount of time.  The New York Times recently had an article (HERE) about ultra-marathons and trail running, and put me in the running category of radical fringe.  Ha!  I love it.

Reading. I consider reading to be an engagement of ideas with the author.  I will take the time out to read a book of ideas, and to form opinions of my own based on that book.  Time is the issue.  Listening to audiobooks when I run is one option, but I never do that.  I am pretty 'old school' when it comes to my hobbies.  My occupation demands that I sit in a cubicle and stare at a screen most of the day - and I feel the need to unplug from the technology when I can.  When I run, I only listen to my breathing and my footfalls.  I also listen out for the rattlesnakes who are so good at hiding in the rocks and shadows in the trail ahead of me.  I have tried audiobooks, but it is impossible for me to concentrate on those things.  I like a physical, bound book, with clipboard, highlighter and notepad in hand.  I know.  I am a dinosaur.

Writing.  If I am in an exchange of ideas with the author, then I must have an outlet.  That is why I find enjoyment in typing book reviews and book discussions.  Even if the author is long dead, I need to express my own opinions and thoughts that were provoked from that author, and since it is so difficult to bring the topics I am interested in to people I know, even Rosemary, writing and blogging about them is a good outlet for me.  But after spending time with Rosemary, a few hours out on the running trail, and squeezing a few paragraphs of a book into whatever time is left leaves next to no time for writing and makes for one frustrated blogger.

I have to be realistic.  As much as I want to write, I have next to no time for it.  My solution?  Audio.  I will not write.  I will talk.  I have had a Youtube channel for a few years, and I have used it in spurts.  I have used it for book discussions in the past, but since I refuse to show my face I am not especially suited for video.  Rosemary suggested that I do podcasts, and that may be an option if I can ever figure out how the heck to produce those things.  I have produced audiobooks in the past, but editing those things is a real chore.  For now I am just keeping it simple.  I do not edit - neither the audio or the video.  I just do not have the patience.  I turn on the camera, the microphone, book in hand with a few notes, and talk about the book in a single take.  I try to keep the videos about 10 minutes in length.  The production quality is non-existent.  I am only in it for the talk.

I want to continue my extended review of Robert Price's book, The Christ Myth Theory and its Problems, but since I started that thing almost a year ago (!!!), I am putting it to the side and beginning a new project.  I have begun reviewing  a work of Christian apologetics called The Heresy of Orthodoxy, by Andreas J. Köstenberger, Michael J. Kruger.  I just began last night and have already recorded the first three installments.  I prefer writing, but talking is so much faster!!  Here is the first installment.  Let me know what you think:



If you want, you can check out the most boring channel on Youtube HERE.

2 comments:

Ruth said...

Hey, HiS. I've saved your blog to my reader but for some reason your posts don't show up. I think it might be a WordPress/Blogger issue. I just wanted you to know I'm still reading, though I just saw this post today. I'll have to come back to the youtube video later. I can so relate to the time issue, though. Sometimes you just can't do it all! I'm looking forward to your vlog series, though.

HeIsSailing said...

Hey Ruth, nice to see you. I would not call it a vlog - just me blabbling on with more boring book discussions. I still love to type - I just have no time to visit other blogs or video sites. For now I will just talk on Youtube, but I might type an article or two here on my recent trail running!! Take care.